


The Ocelots and the Little Boy

by radondoran



Category: Phineas and Ferb
Genre: Backstory, Gen, Ocelots, Talking Animals, Undue Seriousness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-03
Updated: 2012-09-03
Packaged: 2017-11-13 11:40:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/503141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/radondoran/pseuds/radondoran
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Basically, my parents disowned me, I was being raised by ocelots."</p>
<p>A tale of Gimmelshtump Forest in the summer of 1974.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Ocelots

**Author's Note:**

> If Doof can teach himself to speak whale, and Phineas and Ferb can invent an animal translator, then an ocelot tongue into which names translate is totally plausible, right?

I.

The forest that surrounded the tiny village of Gimmelshtump in Drusselstein was dark and foreboding even during the daytime. The tall trees blocked all but the most dilute rays of sunlight, and the only things that grew on the forest floor were ferns, mosses, pale lichens, and strange mushrooms that glowed dimly in the gloom. The trees themselves were hoary gray, with gnarled trunks like glaring faces and pointed branches like arms that grasped at passers-by. The villagers would seldom go near the edge of the forest, let alone into it, for it was inhabited by witches and wood-trolls, and other dangerous creatures that the tales of their ancestors had warned them of.

Witches and trolls are no threat to wild animals, however; and the forest, thus left alone by man, made a good home for them. When three ocelots had escaped from the carnival the previous year, they had found safe harbor in Gimmelshtump Forest. They had come through their first European winter into summer, and one of them, Ofelia, was even finding the dark wood a good place to raise the next generation of cubs.

Oskar, the strongest, rushed easily ahead of the others and leapt back and forth over a fallen log in his excitement. "Come on, you slowpokes!"

"It's not our fault you're in such a hurry," objected Olga. "You're even getting ahead of Mother!"

"Yes, do slow down a bit, Oskar," said Ofelia. "Let's all stay together for today. Where is Heinz?"

"Here I am, Mother," called Heinz, running up behind them on his hind legs in their awkward boots. He tripped heavily over a root and tumbled onto a cushion of moss, but was up again in a moment and dashing to catch up with Oskar.

Ofelia's ears twitched in inward discontent. It was the first evening that her cubs had left the den to learn to hunt, and it was, for the most part, a happy occasion. They had grown well; she was proud of them and had high hopes for them. Oskar was already big and powerful, and although he was difficult to control, his love of enthusiastic play would make him a good fighter. Smaller Olga was sleek and graceful, so that Ofelia would not be surprised if she took quickly to climbing and swimming.

But their adopted brother, Heinz: there Ofelia had doubts. Of course she had known when she took him in that the kittens of men grew differently, but it had disquieted her to see it for herself. While Oskar and Olga had twice quadrupled their size, Heinz had grown no more than two or three inches. His eyes were still kitten-blue, and they did not see well in the dark--which accounted perhaps for some of his clumsiness. At least now he could speak ocelot: the first few weeks he had babbled at them in German, eager to talk regardless of whether there was anyone to talk back, or even to listen. Yet Ofelia doubted whether he would ever be able to hunt like an ocelot; whether she could teach him to survive in the hostile forest. Only time would tell.

"Gather around, my dears," Ofelia said aloud. Olga sat obediently in front of her, tail twitching in anticipation of the lesson. "Oskar? Heinz?" Oskar abandoned his play and sat beside his sister. Heinz joined them and stood with his hands behind his back.

"Now, then," Ofelia began. "This will be your first hunting lesson. In a few months you will be fending for yourselves, so pay attention. There are two methods we can use to hunt. Tonight we will be using the simpler method, but also perhaps the more challenging. Here is what we do." She moved a few paces away from her cubs and sat so that she would be ready to spring up at a moment's notice. "We find a nice dark place, like this," she said, "we sit, and we wait for prey to appear. A rabbit, a mouse, anything you can eat."

"Then what?" asked Heinz.

"Then you kill it and eat it, of course," said Oskar.

"Yes, that's right," said Ofelia, though internally she admitted it had been a good question. Heinz didn't have much in the way of claws or teeth, which might prove a disadvantage when he got to the killing part. Perhaps he could manage mice or something. "But the important part for today is to learn to wait. You must be very quiet and patient, and the prey will appear; if you make any noise, you will scare it off. All right? Now, sit quietly and watch me."

Ofelia sat and watched her surroundings intently, waiting for some small animal to come too close.

"So," said Heinz at length, breaking her concentration, "it's really just waiting?"

"Not quite. It's waiting _quietly_."

"Oh." A pause of several seconds. "So--"

"Mother said be quiet, Heinz!" said Olga, batting at him with a paw.

"But he's right," said Oskar. "This is boring. Why can't we just go looking for prey?"

"Because this is how it's done," said Ofelia, growing annoyed. Heinz sat down. "Now, quiet, all of you, and watch me."

She turned away from them and began surveying the ferns for signs of movement. Soon she caught sight of a mouse, but just as she was about to move in for the kill, her focus was interrupted again--this time by a familiar high-pitched scream.

She spun around. Olga and Oskar fled to her side, but clumsy Heinz had not made it to his feet, and was cowering on the ground before the glinting eyes and snarling teeth of a fully-grown male ocelot.

"Osvaldo," she said. Ocelot fathers do not help rear the kittens, and Ofelia had not seen Osvaldo often since they had mated. This was the first time that he had met her cubs; he did not look pleased.

"I thought I smelled a human in my territory," he growled.

Ofelia leapt over Heinz to place herself between him and Osvaldo. "Back, Heinz," she hissed. He scrambled backwards a few feet and watched the confrontation, wide-eyed.

To Osvaldo she said, "This area is my territory first, and Heinz is my cub. You will not touch him."

Osvaldo looked from her to the boy in surprise. "Ofelia, what is this? You're not telling me you're actually raising that human child as your own?"

"I am." She straightened to her full height and half-flattened her ears, ready to fight if it came to that.

Osvaldo stood taller and rotated his own ears in response. "What for?"

"Because he needs me," said Ofelia. "When I found him he was all alone in the forest, weak from hunger and exposure. If I hadn't helped him, he would have died."

"You should have eaten him," snarled Osvaldo. "I can't believe this. You have two cubs of your own--of _our_ own--and you're wasting resources on this cuckoo? Ofelia, he doesn't belong here!"

"Neither do we!" Ofelia snapped back. "That's why I took him in--he was lost and afraid, just like us! You know what it is to be separated from everything familiar--to find yourself in a strange place and not know how to survive. You should understand better than anyone."

"We learned to survive. We have made our own way. We may not belong in Drusselstein, but we belong here in the wilderness. The boy does not--he belongs in town, in the world of men. You're making a mistake trying to change that."

"Heinz is my cub," Ofelia repeated.

Osvaldo growled at Heinz again. Ofelia growled back, and advanced on him. Osvaldo's tail twitched indecisively. With only two female ocelots in the country, the nascent population could not afford for them to fight. Slowly he backed down before Ofelia's glare. "Fine! Starve if you want to." And he was off into the forest at a run.

Ofelia turned to her cubs again. "I'm sorry about that," she said. "Is everyone all right?"

"I'm fine, Mother," said Olga.

"Me too," said Oskar.

"Heinz?"

Heinz shakily stood up. "I'm okay, Mother." He wiped tears from his eyes. "Thank you for, um... Thank you."

"Of course, my dear," said Ofelia. "Now, back to the lesson. Do we all understand the principles of waiting and striking?"

They did. Ofelia demonstrated, successfully this time, and then sent them off--staying close--to try it for themselves. Oskar caught a mouse. Olga, impressive for a first-timer, caught a bird. Heinz did not catch anything.

Soon it was time to find another spot. Ofelia led her cubs through the forest, but when they stopped, Heinz was no longer bringing up the rear. Before she could start looking for him, he arrived, carrying some long vines over one arm.

"I've got an idea," he replied to her questioning look. He went to work tying the vines and rigging them up to a tree. Then, as Ofelia had instructed him, he sat quietly and waited.

Before long the trap went off. Heinz had caught a boar. The whole family ate well that night.


	2. The Little Boy

II.

"Here you go, kid," said Herr Hofmann, the carnival owner.

Heinz closed his hand around the four copper coins he had earned for his last week of work. Working the dunking booth had been unpleasant, and the pay had not been much, but it was enough to keep him in supplies to build his traps--not exactly the traditional way of hunting that Mother had taught them, but it was what worked for Heinz.

Now the brown leaves were dropping from the gray trees of Gimmelshtump Forest, and the carnival was about to leave town for the winter. The booths had been reduced to panels with odd nails sticking out, the rides had been disassembled and packed haphazard into their trucks, and a cursory survey had been made to make sure no pieces had been left behind. Heinz and Herr Hofmann stood in the wide carnival grounds, which were now an empty field, the grass worn to dirt by rides and booths and foot-traffic. The place would be a muddy swamp the next time it rained.

Heinz put the coins into his pocket. "Hey, are you going to use that rope?" he asked.

"Huh?" Herr Hofmann glanced at the dirty coil, forgotten on the ground. "Oh. Nah. Knock yourself out."

Heinz wound the rope over his shoulders to carry it. Herr Hofmann shook his head and stepped into his truck. "See you next year, kid," he said.

"See you," Heinz returned, and Herr Hofmann drove off, leaving him alone in the dust.

Or rather, not quite alone. "Come on, Balloony," said Heinz, taking his best friend by the string. "Let's go home."

Balloony followed. Heinz had drawn the face on the balloon some weeks ago--the long-lasting spray he had developed was working well. He had wanted a companion; he had his ocelot family, of course, but they could not be at the carnival with him during the day, and the smell of his ocelot diet had not made him popular with his co-workers. Balloony didn't judge. Besides, it was nice to have someone around with whom he could speak German. Balloony was a very good listener.

"So I guess that's it for this year's carnival," Heinz remarked as they started along the road towards the forest.

Balloony nodded.

"Next year I'll probably be too big to throw. But hey, maybe they'll promote me to the guy who gets dunked. And you know what else? Tonight's the night Olga's going to move out of the den--isn't that weird? I remember when she was just a cute little kitty."

Balloony gave him an impassive look.

"What?" Heinz asked, defensively.

The gaze held steady.

"What, you think I should move out too?"

Balloony nodded.

Heinz looked away. "I don't have to move out yet," he said.

Balloony bobbed patiently in the air.

"Mother's not tired of me!" Heinz insisted.

Balloony did not agree.

"Look," said Heinz, "just because Oskar and Olga are leaving doesn't mean I have to, you know? I'm not ready to be alone. I want to stay with Mother--what's your problem with that, anyway?"

Balloony looked into Heinz's eyes.

"I'm staying," said Heinz, crossing his arms.

Balloony shook his head.

Heinz glared at him. "Why not? Why don't you want me to stay, Balloony? Why can't I just stay with somebody who loves me and be happy for a change?" He was nearly shouting by now. "What do you know, anyway? You're just a dumb balloon!" He let go of the string and stalked off.

Balloony floated calmly.

Ten seconds later Heinz hurried back and caught the string again. "I'm sorry, Balloony, you know I didn't mean it. I'm just a little upset, that's all. With the carnival closing, and Olga leaving and everything... I'm sorry, Balloony. Let's not talk about it any more, okay?"

He walked on, and Balloony bobbed behind him, in companionable silence.


	3. The End

III.

"Goodbye, Mother," said Olga as the stars came out in the darkening sky. She was off to hunt by herself; when day came, she would find her own tree to rest in, finally leaving the childhood protection of mother and den. She would stay in her mother's territory for some time more before striking out to find her own, but she was finished living at home. Oskar had already left, and was no doubt out hunting somewhere nearby.

"Goodbye, Olga," said Ofelia.

"See you later, Heinz."

"Yeah, see you," said Heinz abstractedly.

And Olga darted off into the forest. Ofelia turned to her last remaining cub. "Well, Heinz?"

"Well," Heinz replied, deliberately avoiding the hint.

But if he wouldn't bring it up, she would. "Have you given any thought to finding a home of your own?"

Heinz averted his eyes from hers. "Not--not really," he admitted. "I don't think I'm ready yet. Can't I stay with you a little longer, Mother? I can catch enough food for both of us. Can't we stay together?"

Ofelia's ears twitched doubtfully. "I suppose you are still less independent than your brother and sister," she said. "Tell me, how long do human children usually stay in the den?"

Heinz thought about it. "For me, it'd be about... nine more years."

"Nine years!" Ofelia breathed.

Balloony gave Heinz a look. Heinz ignored it.

"Hey," he said, changing the subject, "it's chilly out here, huh? I swiped some matches from the fire-breathing man--how about I build us a fire? Would you like that, Mother?" That was something Heinz could do that Ofelia could not. It was like the boar. Maybe if he kept doing things like this, she would let him stay.

Ofelia hesitated. Then the autumn breeze picked up, and her fur stood on end. "All right," she said. "It won't hurt to warm up before we go hunting tonight."

When Heinz had built the fire and gotten it going, though, Ofelia wasn't sure she liked it. The warmth was nice, but there was something wrong about being this warm in a Drusselstinian autumn, something off about having one side burning hot and the other cold. And then there was the light. It seemed almost brighter than the sun, by virtue of being closer and not being blocked out by the forest above. There would be no chance of finding prey anywhere close to it, and it was playing havoc with her night vision. And besides that, she felt exposed next to such a beacon. She had not yet been attacked by any other predators of the forest--bears, for instance, or goozims--but that did not stop her from feeling wary.

Heinz knew nothing of this. He smiled at Ofelia, a broad human smile, and warmed his hands at the fire while Balloony twirled in the rising hot air. Soon he tied Balloony to his wrist, sat down on a rock, and began to doze--working at the carnival by day and hunting with the ocelots by night had been taking a toll on him. And it was when he was almost asleep, and while Ofelia was blinking at the roaring fire, that a man walked up to the clearing outside the den itself without either of them noticing.

"Hello there!" said the man. "Anybody home?"

Heinz started awake. "Herr Hofmann?" he asked. "I thought you left town."

"Kid?" Herr Hofmann was equally surprised. "What are you doing here? My car broke down, I saw the light, and..." He trailed off. He had caught sight of Ofelia, who now stood facing him with her back arched. "Ofelia," he said. Heinz stood up in surprise. "My prize act. Here, kitty, kitty. Let me take you back to the nice carnival."

Ofelia growled. Heinz stepped between her and Herr Hofmann. "Back, Mother," he said in ocelot, and then addressed Herr Hofmann in German. "Go away. You can't take her."

"Want to bet?" Herr Hofmann took off his backpack, reached inside, and drew out a net. He raised it in both hands and moved towards Heinz and Ofelia.

"Run!" cried Heinz in ocelot; and then, "No, not there!"

Ofelia, dazzled by the fire, had taken off three steps too far to the left. As her foot crunched through a covering of leaves, there was a small _click_. The trap went off. Before Heinz could say anything else, Ofelia was bound from head to tail in rope, hanging from a tree.

"Well, well, well," said Herr Hofmann. He dropped the net. "So that's what you wanted that rope for. Thanks, kid. You just saved me a lot of trouble." He put his backpack back on, walked past Heinz and cut Ofelia down from the tree with his pocketknife, then started back towards the road carrying the trussed-up bundle in both hands.

Heinz and Balloony gaped after them. "No," Heinz whispered. "My fire, my trap... That other ocelot was right, Balloony. I don't belong here."

Balloony looked at him.

"Of course I can't let him get away with this!" said Heinz. He picked up the net and took off running. He leapt over the roots on the forest floor and dodged low branches. He had lived in this dark forest long enough that he could move faster than an inexperienced town-dweller.

Heinz listened for Herr Hofmann's footsteps, darted around the trees, and came out in front of him. "Stop," he said. "Put her down."

Herr Hofmann laughed. "You again, kid?" he asked.

Heinz growled. He was small and weak, but he wouldn't give up without a fight. He leapt at Herr Hoffman's knees and pushed him backwards into a root. Herr Hoffman tripped and fell backwards, dropping Ofelia. Heinz hoped she would be okay. He growled again, climbed onto Herr Hofmann's chest, and began scratching at his face with long fingernails. "Go away!" he shouted frantically. "Go away!"

Herr Hofmann hissed at the scratches, but in a moment he grabbed Heinz by the vest and held him out at arm's length.

"I don't know what your problem is, kid," he said, "but I'm going to get my ocelot back."

Heinz reached out for Herr Hofmann's face, struggling and kicking uselessly. He snarled as best he could in his squeaky voice. Herr Hofmann only smiled and stood up, still holding him out where he could do nothing.

And then there was an answering snarl from the trees, and Osvaldo was facing them, ears flattened, ready to fight.

Herr Hofmann dropped Heinz. Heinz fell hard into the leaves and twigs of the forest floor, but quickly got to his feet and watched the confrontation.

"Ah, Osvaldo," said Herr Hofmann, but he sounded nervous. "Nice kitty." He slowly moved to pick up the bound Ofelia, but stopped at another snarl from Osvaldo. The two stood facing each other, waiting for one to make a move.

Heinz looked up at Balloony and nodded. He picked up Herr Hofmann's net. He untied Balloony from his wrist and tied him to one side of the net, which Balloony obligingly held up. Heinz and Balloony moved around behind Herr Hofmann and got into position.

"Osvaldo!" he cried in ocelot. "Now!"

Osvaldo hissed and leapt forward. Herr Hofmann started backwards and fell straight into Heinz's trap. The edges of the net snapped together around him and he found himself curled up on the forest floor, utterly helpless.

Heinz removed Balloony from the net and returned him safely to his wrist, then moved in to untie Ofelia with nimble fingers. She stood up, unharmed. "Help me get him back to the road," said Heinz to Ofelia and Osvaldo, unconsciously taking the leadership position. "Somebody will find him there."

Between the three of them they managed to drag the man the last few yards to the edge of the forest. Osvaldo came close to the man's face and snarled a final message, then turned away into the trees.

Heinz brought his own face close to Herr Hofmann's in turn. "He says," he said in German, "stay out of our forest."

Then he turned away too and ran into the forest after the ocelots, afraid they would leave him. But Ofelia caught him right away, rubbed her body affectionately against him and gently licked the cuts on his face. "You were very brave, Heinz," she said.

"Mother," said Heinz, and could say no more. He swallowed and looked to Balloony for comfort. Balloony's stern look did not waver.

Ofelia nuzzled Heinz one last time and then turned to their other companion. "And Osvaldo," she said. "Thank you for saving us."

"Of course, my dear Ofelia," said Osvaldo. Ofelia purred and allowed Osvaldo to nuzzle her.

It was different from the maternal way she had treated Heinz. They were a man and a woman, and of the same species. This was a different kind of bond, one that Heinz didn't understand but that he somehow felt he could not get in the way of. He looked to Balloony again, and had to blink away tears before he could see him.

"M--Mother?" Heinz said.

Ofelia turned away from Osvaldo and looked serious again. "What is it, Heinz?"

"I think," he said, "I think you were right. I should go. I should find a home of my own. I'm ready."

Ofelia started towards him. "My dear, you don't have to--"

"Don't try to stop him," said Osvaldo in a low voice. "It's for the best."

Heinz flinched at the remark, but he knew it was the truth. "Goodbye, Mother," he said. "Thanks for everything."

"Goodbye, Heinz."

And Heinz turned and ran away into the forest, Balloony bobbing turbulently behind.

He wandered all night. He didn't know where he was going; he had known he had to leave the ocelots, but he had no other destination in mind. He wandered blindly, letting Balloony lead the way by pulling gently at his wrist. Balloony led him into town. He walked through the carnival grounds, already muddy with dew. He walked down Main Street, empty and desolate at night in such a small town. He hardly looked where he was going; he only looked up at Balloony now and then, and Balloony scarcely looked back.

At last dawn approached. The morning star shone brightly in the east. Heinz could smell the bakery getting ready to open, and suddenly he felt weak with hunger and fatigue. He must find somewhere to rest for the day, or he would collapse where he was.

Balloony was leading him on quickly in the morning breeze so that he stumbled to keep up. "Balloony--" he began, and Balloony stopped.

Heinz looked around. They had come to the front yard of a familiar castle. A poorly improvised straw gnome guarded its zotzenfruit garden. There was a familiar crest above the door.

Heinz felt dizzy, and fell to his knees in the grass. "Balloony, why--?" He trailed off. A familiar voice carried across the garden to his ears.

"I'll get the milk," it said. The door opened. The light from the kitchen fell out in a bright fan upon the lawn, and directly upon Heinz. The stout woman silhouetted in the door looked at him curiously.

Heinz froze, unable to decide whether to run away or speak.

Balloony tugged meaningfully at his wrist.

Heinz spoke. "Mama?"

Mama rushed outside and swept him up into one of her smothering, all-too-rare hugs. "Heinz, my little lawn gnome, is it really you? Come inside and have some breakfast!"

She took Heinz by the hand and led him to the house. Papa met them at the door. Heinz shrank before him, but his only words were, "Take a bath. You smell like a wild ocelot."

So that was it. They were taking him back in. There would be no discussion about it.

Heinz followed his parents inside. Just before the door swung shut, he looked back out towards the forest. A pair of green feline eyes shone in the dim morning light, then vanished into the trees.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Then All Anxiety Was at an End](https://archiveofourown.org/works/504225) by [radondoran](https://archiveofourown.org/users/radondoran/pseuds/radondoran)




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